Accepting and respecting our differences

Eph’pheta, that is, “Be Opened”! This phrase is taken from the Gospel of St. Mark. “And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, “Eph’phata”, that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” (Mk. 7: 32-35) In a plural society, a preferred trait toward a good neighborliness given the diversities of culture and education is OPENNESS. This demands a basic openness of mind and heart to accept and respect our differences in faiths and cultures. There are three basic attitudes that will help us walk this new path of openness. They are as follows: The recognition that our life, future and destiny are intimately linked to each other. No, we cannot espouse a politics of separatism, a culture of exclusivism, and nor can we act as sole proprietors of the land. Second is to be open, that is, Eph’pheta/Iftah, to each other –learning not only from each other but more so to live and work as partners in shaping our common lives and destiny in peace, justice and care of the earth. Yes, we must not be afraid or hesitate to accept, to trust, and to work with each other as partners. Third is our commitment and involvement in the promotion and guarantee of the rights and dignity of every person regardless of faith, gender, culture, and color within our society/community. The basis of this commitment is our belief that all peoples even though they belong to different religions, nations, etc. form ONE human family, created by the ONE and same God, living in the same world/community, and destined for a common end. For emphasis, I take a portion of the late Pope John Paul II’ s address at Casablanca Morocco on 18 August 1985. “People do not accept their differences. They do not know each other sufficiently. They reject those who have not the same civilization. They refuse to help each other. They are unable to free themselves from egoism and from self-conceit. But God created all equal in dignity, Though different with regard to gifts and talents, Mankind is a whole where each one has his/her part to play. The worth of the various peoples and of the diverse cultures must be recognized. The world is as it were a living organism. Each one has something to receive from the others and has something to give to them.” Pope John Paul II presented to the world his dream and hope for Christianity and Islam as they journey together into the new millennium. In his last Addresses to Muslims and Christians in Syria at the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on 6 May 2001, he said: “It is my ardent hope that Muslim and Christian religious leaders and teachers will present our two great religious communities as COMMUNITIES IN RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE, NEVER MORE AS COMMUNITIES IN CONFLICT.” It is crucial for the young to be taught the ways of respect and understanding, so that they will not be led to misuse religion itself to promote or justify hatred and violence. Violence destroys the image of the Creator in his creatures, and should never be considered as the fruit of religious conviction.” “Better mutual understanding will surely lead to a more objective and comprehensive knowledge of each other’s religious beliefs at the practical level, to a new way of presenting our two religions NOT IN OPPOSITION, as it happened too often in the past, BUT IN PARTNERSHIP FOR THE GOOD OF THE HUMAN FAMILY.” Openness is NOT a universal element in human relations. It has to be slowly, patiently and sometimes painfully built through time. To achieve peace in the Philippines, we must steadily school ourselves to prefer openness to fanaticism; trust to hostility; and respect to intolerance. We begin by being living witnesses of this openness to each other by accepting and respecting our differences.